Rubbing-apron



Cf. C. SHEPARD RUBBING MHON.

APPLICATION HLED JUNE24, 1919.

1,367,281. Patgnd Feb.1,1921,

y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

` CHARLES C. SHEPARD, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES F. BROWN, TRUSTEE, OF READING, MASSACHUSETTS.

RUBBING-APRON.

specification of Letters Patent. .Patented Feb` 1,` 1921 `Application lecl June 24, 1919. Serial No. 306,320.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES C. SHEPARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rubbing- Aprons, of which the following is a specilication.

rlhis invention relates to endless aprons employed in so-called rubbing motions to roll and condense rovings or slubbings preparatory to spinning the same into yarn, a pair of aprons being employed, and each apron being mounted on and driven by a pair of parallel rolls, so spaced apart that the apron has flat stretches between the rolls. 'lihe rolls are rotated, and at the same time, longitudinally reeiprocated in such manner that `the adjacent stretches of two aprons bear simultaneously on rovings between said stretches, `and Simultaneously roll and con dense the rovings and feed them endwise.

rl`he outer surfaces of the aprons mustbe suiiciently rough or diversified to frictiony ally engage the rovings and roll or rotate the same on their longitudinal axes, and the na ture of these surfaces should be Such, that they will not slip or slideA on the rovings. The roughened surfaces should be-of such nature that they are not liable to disintegrate or tear the rovings, or Separate the fibers thereof. Leather aprons are in com rnon use, each apron being made of asheet of leather, the opposite edges of which are scarfed and cemented together to form an `endless apron or tube, the outer surface of the leather being roughened `in `various ways, by crimping, furrowing, punching partly through the leather to form small recesses, etc. There are several objections to leather aprons, including the difficulty of forming a durableioint withouta ridge at the Ameeting edges of the leather sheet, and therdiiiiculty of providing Aleather with. a Ydurable roughcned surface having the characteristics which are desirable. y

A. seamless apron composed of helical. wire coils interengaged as in the so-called Immelmann fabric, has been proposed, but has never been successfully used so far as I am aware, it being apparent that in a rubbing surface, the convolutions of the wire have a tendency to slip or slide on the rovings, and thereby mangle or j am the same.

After much experiment I have discovered that a seamless, woven, `tubular fabriccomposed of textile warp and weft threads, preferably of cotton, provides arubbing `apron which `overcomes the various objections to thematerials heretofore used, and that a pair of aprons lof this structure accomplish their function 1n a thoroughly satisfactory manner.

invention consists in` an improved article of manufacture, to wit, a seamless elongated tubular fabric composed of textile warp and weft threads, the tube being formed and proportioned to constitute a rubbing `apron having the characteristics hereinafter described.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this speciicatiom Figure 1 is a perspective view, showing conventionally a seamless tubular fabric embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view Showingthe tubular fabric "mounted on the usual supporting rolls.

Fig-3 is an enlarged plan view of a fragment of the fabric.

Fig. 4.- is a .section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

The same reference characters indicatethe same partsin all of the figures.

In thedrawings, 12, 12 represent a pair of the apron-supporting and driving rolls employed in a so-called rubbing motion for `condenser cards, the rolls beingrotated and reciprocated endwise by 4any suitable mechanism. Two pairs of rolls are employed, the arrangement beingsuch that each apron has a `flat stretch facing a fiat stretch of the other apron,` said stretches beinguparallel with each other and being finovedby the rolls in `suchlnanner that rovings between thestretches are atonce moved :endwise and rolled to reduce theirdiameter, by the opu posed surfaces of `the apron stretches.

`Since my invention relates wholly to the apron, it is not necessary to illustrate the means for operating the rolls.

In carrying out my invention, I weave by either a circular or a :dat tubular fabric loom, a seamless tubular fabric 13, the crossing warp and weft threads of which are shown enlarged by Figs. 3 and 4. These threads are preferably of cotton, and of the Size usually employed in weaving heavy duck or canvas, although other materials such as flax, hemp, jute, and asbestos fibers formed into threads,

may he employed. The length of the tubwtoA lar fabric is somewhat greater than the length of the rolls, l2, which vary in length, the minimum being about forty-two inches, and the maximum about sixty inches.

The diameter of the fabric is such that when applied to the rolls 12, as indicated by F ig. 2, it constitutes an apron having two flat stretches extending from roll to roll. The rolls are usually of such diameter, and are so spaced apart that a fabric about seven inches in diameter is suitable for the apron.

It will be seen by reference to Figs. 3 and 4, that the outer surface of the apron presents a multiplicity of rounded, substantially convex bosses le and 14a, formed by portions of the warp and weft threads. These bosses collectively constitute a roughened rubbing surface adapted to cooperate with the rubbing surface of a companion apron, said surfaces frictionally and yieldingly engaging rovings passing between the adjacent parallel stretches of said aprons, and rolling and condensing the rovings without liability of slipping thereon, and therefore without liability of tearing or disintegrating the rovings.

The said'bosses composed of twisted textile Vfibers, are somewhat compressible, so that they are adapted to impart a somewhat yielding rolling pressure to the rovings.

I prefer to incorporate in the fabric a repellent of water and oil, so that its roughened rubbing surface will.l not be rendered unduly soft and yielding by absorption.

To this end I'prefer to successively immerse the fabric in three baths. In treating one hundredpounds of the fabric, or in other words, a plurality of aprons having an aggregate weight of one hundred pounds, I preferably proceed as follows:

For the first bath I dissolve three to live pounds of tannic acid in about ve gallons of warm'water, add water enough to cover the goods, stir the solution thoroughly and immerse the goods in the solution for a few hours, then squeeze out the solution, and use the second bath.

For the second bath I employ water enough to cover the goods, and dissolve therein ten pounds nitrate of iron. Immerse the goods about forty-live minutes in this olution and then wash in Clearwater and For the third bath, I dissolve in twelve and one-half gallons of water, about two and one-half pounds of dry borax, and about eleven pounds of dry shellac, and boil until these ingredients are thoroughly dissolved, then add about three and one-half pounds of asbestine powder. I run the goods through the bath and then dry and roll the fabrics to remove wrinkles.

This treatment renders the goods practically proof against effects of air, moisture and oil. It also toughens and strengthens the threads.

I do not limit myself to a tubular woven apron, all the interwoven strands of which are compressible textile threads. rlChe fabric may be produced by interweaving a set of compressible strands or threads, composed of cotton, or other like fibers, with a. set of strands of wire, or other material, not necessarily compressible and of smaller diameter than the compressible strands, the compressible bosses being portions of the compressible strands, and projecting above the noncompressible strands.

My improved apron is of uniform thickness at all parts, said bosses containing the repellent. This uniformity is very desirable, and is often dii'lcult of attainment in an apron made as usual, from a long sheet of leather cut from a single hide. Portions of the leather sheet are often of different lirniness or density. lI`he softer portions are .spongy and absorb oil to such an extent that they swell and become thicker than -the firmer or denser portions. rI`his results in an uneven thickness which has to be corrected by removing the thicker portions.

I claim:

A rubbing apron composed of warp and weft strands interwoven to form a seamless tube of suitable diameter to engage a pair of spaced apart supporting rolls, the external surface of the apron being roughened and presenting a multiplicity of rounded substantially convex compressible fibrous bosses, and a repellent of water and oil incorporated in said bosses, whereby softening of the bosses by absorption of water and oil from the material on which the apron acts, is prevented.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

CHARLES C. SHEPARD. 

